He One-Upped Me!

 June 8, 2023

I had an “AHA!” moment this morning while admiring the quaint homes along the Tennessee River. Mind you, there are several McMansions along this stretch of river also, but I’m always drawn to the smaller, more modest homes. I’m not sure why this is, but it’s always been what catches my eye no matter where we might be traveling. Years ago, when David and I had just begun our family, we would travel back and forth from the mountains of central Vermont to my childhood home in Ontario, New York. I would make mention of the lake homes as we passed by Eagle Lake in the Adirondacks. I’d say, “One day, I’d love to live by a body of water.” David would always dismiss the idea with all kinds of excuses. None of the excuses ever satisfied me and I would just keep dreaming of the day when we would have our own little home on the water, somewhere, somehow.

Maybe my desire stemmed from my upbringing on the Wile Adler Fruit farm situated on the shores of Lake Ontario. We literally lived right on Lake Road. Our back yard consisted of some lawn, a row of grape vines, then an orchard of cherries and apples, and ended at the shore of Lake Ontario. In my mind, I can still smell the lake. I can hear the sound of the waves and I can feel the warm stones and pebbles on my feet. The picture and memories are always very clear in my mind. Having moved to the Green Mountains of Vermont when I was twenty in order to fulfill my dream of skiing everyday, took me away from the lake. The mountains and the beauty of Vermont replaced my love of water and I took immediately to the playground which was Sugarbush Ski Area, hiking adventures on the Long Trail, and canoeing and swimming in the Mad River. Eventually, we were drawn back to the lake when we would take the kids to the sandy beaches at Lake Champlain and when windsurfing became a hobby for a number of years. Then, the kids grew up and went their own ways. So David and I ventured up to the St. Lawrence River and rented a houseboat for a week at a time for a few years in the Thousand Islands. Do you see where I’m going here?

A scripture from Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” My faith has always allowed me to hold onto this truth. Now, this is the crazy, wonderful part. David and I have been traveling by boat for the past four years. We sold our lovely home in Vermont and have been navigating the waterways of the eastern USA since June of 2019 – and we both LOVE it! But, all this time, I’ve been wondering how God orchestrated this lifestyle we’ve come to treasure? It wasn’t really our “dream” or desire to live and travel on a boat. We didn’t even have a boat until 2017!

Then, this morning, the “AHA!” moment happened. As I was looking out across the water from my perch on our boat (aptly named Selah Way), and thinking whether we would ever have our little home on the water, it hit me. We DO have a little home on the water. Not in the way I had ever imagined it, but in a way, it’s even better than I’d ever imagined. And that’s just what God has done. He loves us so much more than we can ever imagine and absolutely does give us the desires of our heart. Sometimes, we don’t even see it until we’ve been sitting on it for four years. Another reminder, that God’s plans are always so much better than anything we could ask for or imagine. [Ephesians 3:20 “Our God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or imagine.”]

I write this not to brag about what I’ve done or to sound proud, but to encourage others to seek God, too. Especially in the days we are living in, when right is wrong and wrong is right, life gets very confusing. Are you intrigued by this story or maybe you’ve had a similar experience?

Maybe you’re frustrated or disenchanted with how life has turned out. Do you wonder where my faith comes from? A scripture that may help you find what I have found is from Romans 10:17 and it reads, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” Start by opening the Bible, finding a gospel preaching church, praying, or finding a trusted friend or family member to help direct you. Please feel free to share your thoughts and comments with me!

Amen.

India 2009 Wrap Up

Jonathan Stewart, Fr. Bart Devlin , Sr. Bernadette Mastroni, Sr. Mary Francis Stapinski, Sr. Rose Stapinski, Sr. Maria Brandon, Fr. Dominic Brandon, Br. Luke Silady, Sr. Abigail Deutl.

The group met at JFK Airport on Saturday, October 17th and left for Mumbai, India. We arrive in Kochin, Kerala on Mon. Oct. 19th and were driven to Fr. Augustine Pallikunnen’s church and Retreat Center (Tabor Nagar) in Thodupuzha. We spent a few days visiting with Fr. Augustine and the sisters that serve there and learned about this ministry which is a home for mentally and physically disabled orphan girls. We also took a trip into Kochin and visited Jew Town, the first Jewish community in India.

On Thursday, October 22, we flew to Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and were met by our host, Lee Ruud and his wife, Praveena. We spent time at Abundant Life Care’s girls’ and boys’ home performing Bible school skits and songs. This coincided with an Operation Christmas Child distribution of gift boxes to the orphans and all the children in the surrounding community that attend Bible school there.

We left on the Machilipatnum Express the evening of Saturday, October 14th and traveled by train overnight arriving early on Sunday morning. We were greeted at the train station by Uncle Deenabondhu and his ministry team. They allowed us to check into our hotel and get changed and then we were sent out two by two to several of the churches in the area to bring the Word, song, prayer, and fellowship. Several of the 18 or so churches are new construction since the tsunami and were built by missionaries from Australia.

Tuesday evening is Bible study in Machilipatnum and again we all had the privilege of being sent out again to bring the Word and pray with the people. Monday through Thursday during the day, our team participated in ministry to the children at Kamsalipalum during their holiday break. We performed skits, sang songs, prayed and many of us shared testimonies with college students nearby. Jonathan and Fr. Bart brought the Word to college groups and also to the parents of the children served at Deenabondhu’s ministry.

All of this took place in the midst of determining where our missionaries, Sr. Bernadette and Sr. Rose, would be living during the next few months in Kamsalipalem. It was decided that a room near Deenabondhu’s church, office, and school would be their home so work began on securing the windows and door, cleaning, and purchasing beds and supplies. The new room was blessed with a Mass of Dedication on Thursday, Oct. 29th. Deenabondhu marveled at the Word given at this Mass as it was the exact same Word given to his father when the church there was first dedicated some 40 years ago. Surely, this is the house of the Lord as our new mission house (room) is the place where the original church began at Sharon Ministry in Kamsalipalem.

We said good-bye our missionaries later that evening and returned to Hyderabad by train and spent a final day with our hosts, Lee & Praveena, then returned to JFK via Mumbai on Saturday, October 31st.